DIIV AT CARRIAGEWORKS

The day before DIIV were to play I wasn’t sure if I was able to make it, I had a friend's housewarming to go to, but it started late. So, I thought if I was 2 hours late no one would really notice. I ended up shooting my shot sending the emails the day before, secured the tickets and committed to the cause. I half filled a mount franklin water bottle with gin that I strategically hid in the bushes to pick up on my way back out after the gig. I somehow forgot how much of a DIIV fan I was. My boyfriend and I got tickets to see them on their last tour leg back in 2020, but obviously it got interrupted by a world pandemic. So to see them five years later was something I didn’t realise I was excited for until I got there. Until I stood at the barrier. Until I heard their opening track, In Amber–are they calling me?

I hadn’t listened too much to their latest album Frog In Boiling Water so in a way this was a new listening experience for me. The phrase Frog in Boiling Water, refers to the inability to recognise gradual threats, which directly expresses the outgoing message they communicate during the show… the intro, the visuals and upon looking deeper, the lyrics. An encrypted anecdotal acknowledgement of how fucked up the world is–DEATH TO AMERICA repeated over and over in a female robotic generated voice, which made the message really hit home. I felt really lucky to be a part of that crowd. I feel like it was a show that was so special, and I’m sure anyone else who saw their set felt the same way. It left you with something to take home, something to think about and something I’ve been talking about weeks later. So I think with that I can safely say that this was one of the best gigs I’ve been to… maybe ever? Sonically too, they were so tight, the set list was perfect, sound was incredible: loud, but you could still hear every shoegazey drowned out sound, perfectly weaving through the four band members and the venue at Carriageworks was ace. I mean I could keep going on and on about it but I think you get the idea… I’ve since been listening to Frog in Boiling Water (especially Soul-Net) on repeat as well as the entire set list from their show to relive it all. I’m fanning hard. I found my gin in my bushes and got to the party at the eleventh hour, the perfect time where everyone was having fun. It was a perfect night.